


ten kisses

by synstruck



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Canon Era, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Idiots in Love, M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-29
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2018-01-21 06:37:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,005
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1541240
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/synstruck/pseuds/synstruck
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>it was hardly a whirlwind romance, by any stretch of imagination.<br/>and yet, he would have it no other way.</p>
            </blockquote>





	ten kisses

**Author's Note:**

> prompt: ten kisses
> 
> It's midnight, I finally finished this thing I started twenty three days ago, I did a quick once-over, I'm too tired to bother proofreading this properly fuck me fuck my life fuck everything.
> 
> Enjoy.

**i. forehead kiss**

He pretended to be asleep that night when he heard the door to his room in the medical wing creak open slowly, squeezing his eyes shut against the gentle glow of the candle when he heard the whisper of clothing as the intruder stepped wth what felt like caution into the room. As if either could see anything of the other when his own face was turned to the window and away from his unexpected guest.

He shifted minutely and turned his head from the wall when he heard the sound of footfalls make their way around the side of his bed, trying to make it look casual, trying to make it look as if he was just shifting in his sleep, and the intruder's cat-soft steps halted, their owner clearly waiting to see if he'd awoken. He doubted he would have if he had really been asleep, the intruder having been so silent.

He was burning with curiosity, though. Who was it? Who would be paying him a visit so late at night? When all in the castle would be, should be asleep?

Whoever it was was clearly expecting him to be asleep as well.

How could he, though? He'd been bedridden with fever for days, the damp cloth resting upon his forehead at every moment barely even soothing the uncomfortable warmth of his sickness, the thick blankets he'd been supplied barely keeping the chill off his bones. He spent so many hours in the day asleep that rest eluded him after darkness had fallen.

Soon, the footsteps resumed, and he heard the quiet clink of the candleholder being set down on the wood of the side-table by his bed. The intruder lifted the long-dry wad of fabric off his forehead, presumably dropping it somewhere out of the way.

The urge to open his eyes was overwhelming as a work-worn hand was laid onto his now-bare forehead, callused fingertips brushing against his brow, and he bit back the desire to peer at its owner, opting to just turn his head slightly towards the intruder and breathe a quiet sigh at the feel of the cold palm against his burning skin.

Too soon, the hand was removed, the work-rough fingers lingering for a moment to thread gently through his hair, brushing his bangs out of his face before they, too, were gone. He tried not to frown in his disappointment, fighting to keep his expression neutral.

The brush of cool lips against his forehead, however, was unexpected, and he nearly jumped and ruined the pretense of sleep at the sensation. He forced himself to wait until he heard footsteps retreating to the door and until the muted yellow glow of the candlelight filtering through his eyelids had dimmed.

He cracked one eyelid open cautiously, and glimpsed his Captain's broad back as the man pulled the door shut behind him, taking the tiny flicker of light with him and leaving Eren with just the milky moonlight and the heat rising in his cheeks for company.

  


**ii. first kiss**

He could see the shorter man shaking subtly, even as the Captain tried his hardest to look composed and unconcerned, even while caged between Eren's arms, both the boy's palms pressed into the wall by Levi's head.

The Captain was shaken by Eren's confession, and they both knew it. Eren knew the older man was wondering when his blatant hero-worship, his unending admiration had turned into romantic affection, knew Levi was trying to pinpoint over the years the moment the boy's feelings had shifted from platonic.

Eren glared down at the Captain, carribean green eyes burning passionately beneath the shadows of his knitted brows. The passing years had graced him with a few more inches of height so that Levi had to tilt his chin up to gaze impassively up at the boy who had him trapped against the brick in an infrequently-used hallway, to stare up at the boy who used to be barely the width of a palm taller than him.

He could see the tremble in the older man's frame that Levi so desperately tried to still, could see the tension in his folded arms, could see how the Captain's fingers dug deep into his hard biceps, his fingernails pulling at the fabric of his uniform jacket.

As obtuse as people seemed to think he was, Eren wasn't dense, and he wasn't imperceptive. He certainly wasn't ignorant enough to miss the glances the Captain would steal when he thought the boy wasn't looking, the stares Levi allowed himself to take when he was overseeing training or chores Eren would partake in with the excuse that he was keeping an eye on the boy or making sure he didn't fuck up.

He didn't miss the hungry, longing look that glimmered in the older man's eyes sometimes when Levi looked at him, as if Eren was a thing just barely out of his reach– close enough to touch but not enough to wrap his fingers around and claim for himself.

Eren wasn't stupid.

Eren wasn't stupid, and if his Captain wasn't going to make a move, wasn't going to stake a claim, wasn't going to properly announce his interest... then Eren himself certainly wasn't afraid to chase something that he definitely wanted. Especially now that he knew for sure that it wasn't unrequited, that he wasn't going to be expending precious energy into something that wouldn't, couldn't bear fruit.

He hung his head and took a breath to calm himself– the Captain wasn't the only one at this moment with a pulse that raced like a horse in flight and hands that shook like leaves in the wind. He forced his frown to soften his face into an emotion that was more beseeching than angry, though his bright eyes still shone with passion as he dropped one hand from the wall.

His fingers drifted, feather-light, over Levi's cheek, then his jaw, before settling firmly on the older man's chest, over his heart. He noticed that the Captain didn't shrink away from his touch, though the man was still trembling subtly, and the piercing ice-grey gaze that was still boring into his own was still unwavering and steady.

Gritting his teeth and tensing his jaw slightly, the boy steeled himself, eyes drifting shut as he leaned down, leaned in to press a firm, decisive kiss against the corner of the older man's mouth.

“I'm not trying to trick you, I swear,” he whispered against Levi's skin, “I really want this. I want you.” Another quick kiss to the corner of his lips and the boy dropped his head a little farther to touch their foreheads together.

“Please.”

He could feel, rather than see, the man relax before the Captain reached up and grasped a fistful of Eren's linen shirt at the collar and pulled the boy's body closer as he turned his head just a fraction to kiss Eren properly.

Eren smiled against his Captain's lips, and slid his arms around the older man's waist.

  


**iii. cheek kiss**

It was a cold, wet morning that he'd woken up to, blinking at the cloudy grey sky and the light drizzle that was _just_ tapering off, telling him of the storm that had probably raged for hours in the early morning before dawn had broken. He listened to the quiet _tap tap tap tap tap_ of the rain hitting the windows, watched the water collect and slide down the glass as his consciousness struggled to surface through the thick sticky mire of sleep that continued to threaten to take him back down into slumber.

Such a morning was always best slept away in a warm bed, if one had the luxury of it, and today, he certainly did.

But fight the clutches of sleep Eren did, and eventually he was properly conscious, though still comfortably drowsy, his limbs still feeling too heavy, as if they were filled with lead.

He sniffled discontently, burrowing deeper into the warmth of the thick layers of blankets, rolling over and shuffling farther down the bed so he could press his cold nose into the warm expanse of Levi's back before him. He was only able to snake one arm around the sleeping man's back and just begin to wiggle one thigh between his legs before Levi squawked in surprise, waking suddenly, and jerked about gracelessly to get away, shocked rudely to consciousness by the uncomfortable sensation of Eren's icy cold nose between his shoulderblades.

Eren couldn't help but laugh, shoving his other arm under Levi's wriggling torso and clasping his hard body to him, pressing his entire face against the dip of Levi's spine now, throwing his leg over the Captain's and pinning the man to the bed the best he could.

Levi whined Eren's name, quietly, pitieously, struggling silently against the younger man's hold as Eren's face warmed slowly against the Captain's back. As the older man ceased his wriggling, Eren lifted his face to press a kiss against Levi's shoulder, loosening the grip he had around the man's chest that he knew full well Levi was completely able to escape had he really wanted to.

He smiled as Levi rolled in his arms, turning to face him as sharp steel eyes stares into his own sleepy green ones. Humming in contentment as the older man's eyes shut slowly as he closed the distance between their faces and pressed their foreheads together briefly, Eren couldn't help but laugh at the face Levi made as their breaths mingled before the older man turned his head away sharply from the stink of their stale saliva and unbrushed teeth.

The younger man leaned his face close to the Captain's own again, pressing his nose to Levi's cheek as he turned his face back towards Eren slightly, watching him in mild curiosity as the Eren tilted his jaw forward and kissed the side of the older man's face, murmuring against the soft flesh under his cheekbones.

“Good morning, Levi.”

  


**iv. fingers kiss**

No matter how much experience you've had on expeditions, no matter how long you've spent in the Corps, no matter how much you steel yourself to the knowlege you may be killed on the next mission you set out on, absolutely nothing prepares you for the terror that overwhelms you when someone you care for is threatened with the jaws of death.

Levi had watched Eren's titan slowly get overwhelmed by the wave after wave of other titans, the rest of the squads being too busy with the titans pursuing them to be able to help Eren's titan battle the crowding beasts who were slowly overpowering him.

The Captain was just barely conscious of the call for retreat that had been yelled to the soldiers as he fired his wire from the back of the falling giant he'd just slewn, making his way over to Eren's side to assist him.

The green-eyed titan had thrown back his head and roared. Green green eyes flashed as he'd punched hard at the titan attempting to rip his left arm off, knocking the creature hard against the tree behind it, and Eren swung his elbow back to drive back another titan on his other side, the giant falling sideways at the impact and taking a few moments to flail helplessly as it reoriented itself and got up.

More crowded around the shifter, and he roared again, leaning forward slightly. The back of his neck becan to smoke, and the Captain saw the young man struggle to tear himself from his titan shell, to abandon his other body while the other titans were preoccupied with taking it apart and devouring it.

It wasn't long before Eren had emerged, victorious, from the mirey grip of the connective tendons that held him in the flesh of the titan, and he steadied himself quickly on the shoulder of the body that had begun to slump without someone in it to control it.

As he slung himself closer to the shifter, Levi watched Eren fire his wire away from his smoking titan shell and begin to zip away, watched as a titan reached up and grasped at the boy, watched as the giant's fingers missed but knocked Eren's tiny body aside, watched Eren crash into a branch as the trajectory of his path was abruptly altered, his still embedded wiretip keeping him anchored to the tree as he began to slip off the branch, his unmoving body hinting that he'd been knocked unconscious by the impact.

He remembers maybe shouting Eren's name in alarm and dread, swinging himself up to the branch the younger boy dangled from.

Eren's eyes were shut, his head lolling as Levi pulled him upright, the exposed skin of his face and neck covered in tiny crisscrossed cuts from sharp branches, thin lines of red that barely bled and were closing up in a hiss of steam even as the Captain watched. He checked over the boy quickly, running deft fingers down all the shifter's limbs and over his ribs, but nothing seemed to be broken, at least.

So he slung the boy over his shoulder and whistled for his horse, firing his wires and leaping, zipping down from branch to branch back into the saddle and looping around the mess of giants devouring the discarded shell of Eren's titan body to rejoin the rest of the formation as they took the opportunity to regroup and retreat whilst the monsters were distracted.

The Captain had insisted on taking him up to the medical wing himself the moment the expedition had ended, the moment it was acceptable for Levi himself to leave them.

Eren had grown over the years, it was obvious to everyone who knew him. But the extra height, the additional length to his limbs had never been so keenly felt by the older man as it was now, with the boy lying limp in his arms, Eren's head pillowed on Levi's shoulder, rolling gently with every step the Captain took.

Over the years, Eren had put on the usual weight of a growing boy, and the muscle of a soldier. He was heavier now, and Eren's unconscious dead weight pulled at the older man's arms, his shoulders, his back, and Levi willed himself to keep taking one step up the stairs, then another, and another, and another.

After what felt like an age, he finally reached the top of the stairs. The medical wing was in sight. It took the Captain all his willpower not to break into a run in this final stretch. He took a moment to center himself and adjust the weight of the unconscious young man in his arms, and then he began to walk.

The nurse on duty had told him that Eren was fine, a little cut and a lot bruised, but he was otherwise unscathed and would live.

Indeed, the shifter was already healing before both their eyes as the nurse examined him, very much slower than usual but his extensive bruising was fading sluggishly to yellow even as the nurse pressed gentle fingers against the worst and darkest of them, the already scabbed cuts on Eren's face and neck sealing beneath the dried blood, rust-red flaking off onto the pristine white sheets as Levi tucked the thin blanket around Eren's unmoving body.

He nodded distractedly as the nurse informed him that the young man just needed to sleep it off, pulled a chair up to the bed as she told him that Eren would be alright once he got some rest, leaned back tiredly into the stiff wooden backrest as the woman said that Eren shouldn't be unconscious for too much longer considering his healing abilities. His mind just processed the important information-- Eren's okay, will wake up soon-- and as the Captain leant forwards, bracing his elbows onto the mattress and his chin atop his interlocked fingers, he found himself drifting.

Sunset had already spread warm flame orange across the sky, fingers of inky blue darkness teasing at the horizon opposite from where the red sun was sinking into the far-off mountains past the walls. Eren found himself stirring slowly, eyelids fluttering as he rose back to consciousness, taking in the dimming light dusk was bringing.

He was groggy, his head and limbs felt heavy, and he felt slightly sore but otherwise unhurt. He flexed his fingers, the digits curling into and crumpling the crisp sheets beneath him and he took a deep breath before turning his face from the window.

There was a figure slumped forward in a seat by Eren's bed so the man's face was buried in his crossed arms propped on the side of Eren's mattress. Eren blinked once, twice, before reaching one hand out to touch his arm gently.

“... Levi?”

The man's head shot up like a bullet at the touch, his usually sharp silver gaze unfocused from sleep and his entire body tense as he sat up in the chair, head turned towards the sound of his name. Seeing Eren conscious and alert, the man's eyes sharpened and he leaned forwards as he got up off the uncomfortable wooden chair, planting his palms onto the mattress.

“You're awake.” Eren grinned in response as Levi's shoulders sagged in relief, nodding quietly as the man allowed himself a shaky exhale, seating himself on the mattress, closer to the younger man.

“Don't scare me like that again,” his Captain whispered softly, his voice thick with emotion as he rested his palm shakily on the boy's cheek.

“I'm sorry,” Eren replied quietly, closing his eyes as he leaned his face into the touch, and Levi pressed his hand a little harder to Eren's cheek, running his thumb gently over the young man's cheekbone.

He reached out with his other hand to grasp one of Eren's, wrapping his own digits around the tips of all four of Eren's fingertips and drawing it up to his own face to press his lips to Eren's knuckles.

“It's okay,” he whispers into the bends of Eren's fingers, his lips dragging over the skin as he spoke. “You're safe. It's okay.”

  


**vi. back kiss**

It was a warm sunny day, and the window in Levi's room was thrown open wide to encourage the breeze through the stuffy room, the door similarly propped open to get the air to circulate.

Neither he nor the Captain were wearing their military issue jackets, nor did they bother with their full harnesses today either. Their leg belts were all in place, but their boots sat by the entrance of the room, side by side.

The top half of Eren's harness dangled from his waist as he lounged miserably on the couch, completely shirtless, with a pad of notes he was tasked with reading and memorizing, while Levi's were rolled up neatly and lying on his desk. The Captain had originally opted to keep his shirt on, though it was unbuttoned to the bottom of his sternum, sleeves rolled up to the elbow, and Levi's trademark cravat lay folded next to his unworn belts on the desk.

They had both abandoned the stuffy office a little after lunch, after a couple of hours of trying to deal with the still, heavy air in the windowless room. It was a good effort, but the heat eventually got to them both and they retreated to the Captain's slightly breezier personal quarters to while the rest of the afternoon away with their paperwork.

Levi had tried to work at the desk in his room for a little while, but eventually abandoned his paperwork, taking his readings with him to sprawl bonelessly on the bed, the books piled neatly on the dresser beside it. He lay bonelessly on his stomach, a book propped up against the pillows in front of him and his chin supported on his crossed arms. He'd given up with his shirt by now, tossing the sweaty mess of fabric into the hamper as soon as he'd realised it was more trouble than it was worth to wear a sweat-dampened article pulled as far up his back as he could get it just to keep himself from getting sweatier.

Eren had fallen asleep to the sight, gnawing on the tip of the pencil he'd been using to make notations on the margins of the pages of the text he was supposed to be reading, and the sun had begun to sink rapidly through the sky before he awoke, the red fingers of color it left behind it in the sky bathing the room in a dim orange light.

The younger man had started suddenly, his notepads falling out of his lap to thump loudly onto Levi's hardwood floor, but silence followed it.

Perplexed, he glanced over at the bed to find that his Captain too had given in to the siren song of sleep. The light pouring through the window threw the muscles of his back in sharp relief, and Eren felt the urge to run his hands over them.

As he moved, however, he was suddenly intensely aware of the uncomfortable sticky slick of sweat that covered his skin, and he grimaced. The room was a little cooler now, but he still felt over-warm and sticky. Eren felt that he would definitely like a shower before the dinner bell rang, and he suspected that Levi would appreciate the luxury of one as well before they headed downstairs for their evening meal.

Groaning, he sat up and stretched, his back popping deliciously as he did so. Picking up his fallen notes, he retrieved his pencil from where it was wedged between the couch cushions, depositing all of these onto the Captain's desk before making his way over to the bed.

As gently as he could, Eren settled his knees on the bed, going slow so as not to dip the bed suddenly and abruptly wake Levi, and crawled up the mattress so he was almost shoulder to shoulder with the sleeping man. He took a moment to stare at the Captain's peaceful sleeping face, a gentle smile splitting his fingers before he leaned up and towards him to press a kiss to his back, right between the shoulderblades.

Levi stirred, calling Eren's name drowsily, the end of the second syllable lilting upwards questioningly as the man slowly returned to consciousness. Eren repeated the action, kissing a little higher on the Captain's back, right at the base of his neck.

“It's nearly dinnertime, Levi,” he says, mouthing at the older man's sticky shoulder. “We've got some time for a shower.”

“Mmm. Good. You smell vile.”

  


**vii. jawline kiss**

Darkness had long fallen, and the hallways were mostly silent though the torches still burned bright in the gloom. Most of the soldiers had retired to their rooms, and the few still roaming the stone halls went about their business as quietly as they could.

Quietness was not, however, something Humanity's Strongest and Humanity's Hope were trying to be. Their bare bodies were covered only partially by the sheets, rendered a sickly blue-white by the moonlight pouring through the window, their skin gleaming gently from the thin layer of sweat that clung to them.

The whisper of the sheets was drowned out by the low moans and quiet gasps coming from the bed's occupants, wet lips sliding over damp skin, fingers gripping into pliant flesh, mouths hanging open to pant pleasure into the humid night air.

Levi grunted as Eren slid his lips off of his cock, loosened the fingers he had snarled into the younger man's hair as the green-eyed shifter dipped his head again to leave a parting kiss, open-mouthed, to the dripping head. Eren's tongue flicked against the slit as he moved away, lapping away the drops of precome that had beaded at the tip of the man's cock, before moving away to press feather light kisses along the inside of Levi's hard thigh.

He breathed Eren's name shakily, jerking harshly at the man's hair as Eren began to mouth along the sharp jut of his hipbone, and the shifter obediently tilted his head back with a choked off moan, his green, green eyes half-lidded and glittering in the light of the moon.

The grip Levi had on his hair, though not tight nor painful, prevented Eren from dipping his head back down and driving the other man mad with teasing kisses and nips, but it didn't stop him from running playful fingers over where his mouth would have pressed and his tongue would have lapped at, mischievous fingers tracing light circles into the protruding bone of Levi's hips, skittering delicately down the insides of his thighs then up again, palming the man's balls gently in one hand and spreading the fingers of the other against his stomach.

Suddenly, Eren noticed the pressure of the tug of Levi's fingers in his hair had disappeared, and the hand the man had wound into the sheets beside him was no longer there. The older man gripped Eren's wrists and pulled him up slightly, Levi's small hands iron cuffs around the joints and his thighs clamped tight around Eren's ribcage as the shorter man rolled them both over so that Eren was flat on his back against the mattress, and Levi kneeling over his chest, one hand pinning the younger man's wrists to the pillows Levi's own head was pressed against earlier.

Smoky grey eyes bore into carribean green as they stare at each other for a moment, Eren with a cheeky grin splitting his face and Levi with a disapproving frown creasing his brow. But soon their eye contact was broken as Levi leaned into kiss the younger man, relinquishing his grip about Eren's wrists to brace one elbow on the bed by Eren's head, the other pressing against his chin and jawline to tilt the shifter's face up as Eren's lips parted in anticipation.

They kissed languidly for several minutes, enjoying the slow slide of tongue against tongue, the whisper of lips sticking wetly against lips, the sensation of their mouths slotting together. Eren lowered his arms to wrap around Levi's ribcage, his fingers gripping first into Levi's shoulders, then running endlessly up and down the older man's back as they licked into and nipped at each other's mouths.

Eren barely felt the curve of Levi's lips against his as the older man smiled against his mouth, only groaning unhappily as Levi broke their kiss to pepper the rest of the shifter's face with chaste, feather light kisses. Those soon turned to harsher, open-mouthed kisses and nips up and down Eren's neck, and this time, the younger man feels Levi's smirk against the crook of his jaw, just under his ear, as Levi presses a long, lingering kiss to the little dip, coaxing another moan out of the younger man.

The kiss to his jaw was his only warning to the michief Levi had in mind to get Eren back for the teasing he had made the older man endure as Levi all but slithered down the bed to stretch his mouth around Eren's painfully hard cock.

  


**viii. rain kiss**

It wasn't often that he could catch Levi in the halls during the day when it was raining, the Captain preferring to hole himself up in the privacy of his office during wet weather, resisting all attempts to drag him out of the room for any reason barring those of utmost importance.

But today, the Captain's office was vacant, the heavy door locked and unmovable. He'd pressed his ear to the wood to listen for movement within the room, peered through the keyhole to see if the older man was at his desk, knocked and called verbally for an answer, all to no avail. So he'd turned and continued his search elsewhere.

A trip to the Commander's office proved fruitless, only Smith himself and Armin occupying the office, the younger blond offering Eren a cheerful greeting from his seat on the office windowsill, shoulder pressed against the glass of the casement. The Commander seemed a little distracted, every so often glancing briefly to the shorter blond sitting with a pile of paperwork in his lap, glasses perched firmly on his pert nose as the young man resumed shuffling through the sheets before him, determinedly ignoring his childhood friend and his superior as Eren tried to engage the latter man in conversation.

Commander Smith didn't seem to know where Levi would be if not in his own office, and Eren watched the older man shoot a surreptitious glance in Armin's direction as he vaguely suggested trying Hange's office or the library downstairs.

Eren nodded slowly, eyes narrowing slightly as he took in the small, self-indulgent grin he could see on his friend's face behind the curtain of his golden hair, untied today where it would usually be pulled back into a half-ponytail similar to Hange's own. Offering his thanks to the seemingly apologetic Commander and bidding the smiling Armin goodbye, Eren quickly made his escape, shutting the door of the office firmly behind him before all but bolting down the hallway.

He knew Levi would be nowhere near Hange's office, and he doubted the older man would be in the library, but he took a detour past Hange's office anyway, peering through the open door to see the Squad Leader's back turned as indecipherable scribbles bloomed from the tip of Hange's pen over the surface of whiteboard in the office, Moblit simultaneously flipping furiously through a couple of thick tomes on the desk before him and jotting notes down as his Squad Leader chattered at the speed of light about the data and calculations on the whiteboard behind him.

Eren beat a hasty retreat before either of them noticed he'd even been there.

A visit to the library offered him no Levi, either, as he'd expected.

Scouring the halls of the castle headquarters for a couple more hours and coming up empty-handed had Eren in low spirits. However, on a whim, he decided to venture out into the rain to check the stables.

The downpour had, by now, lessened to a light shower, the fat raindrops dotting Eren's military-issue jacket with dark spots of dampness. It was light enough that he wouldn't get soaked unless he stood out in the open for maybe ten or twenty minutes, but just heavy enough that he was thankful for the thicker fabric of his uniform jacket over his thin linen shirt.

He'd palmed a carrot from the kitchen on his way out to the stables, breaking the root into two as he strolled across the empty courtyard towards the stable. He could probably have grabbed two of the things, but these were only meant as small treats for his horses, not as anything more substantial.

Curious heads poked out of a few of the enclosures in the building as he entered, a couple of the beasts whinnying in greeting whilst others still retreated to the backs of their stalls as they saw it wasn't their usual rider visiting. Nevertheless, he still petted a few of the outstretched noses as he passed on his way to his own horses' stalls.

Both had their heads out over the doors of their stalls, snorting at him as he approached. The closest one, a dapple grey mare, reached over to nose affectionately at Eren's hair the moment he came close enough for her to do so, and the boy laughed, rubbing her nose as he offered her half the carrot.

Accepting the morsel, she lipped gently at his fingertips as she withdrew her head, crunching noisily on the mouthful, as Eren's other mount, a sorrel gelding, leaned forward, ears perked at the sound of food and the promise of a treat. Eren reached out to him, offering him the other half of the carrot as the boy's mare leant her head against his shoulder, her half of the carrot long gone, his fingers stroking the velvet of her grey nose absentmindedly as he fed his other horse the vegetable, petting him too with another laugh as the gelding lipped at his shoulder and neck, nosing his hair until it stood on end.

He spent a good ten minutes idly petting his horses, talking to them as he stroked their noses and ran his fingers through their manes. They may not have understood his stories about the adventure he'd undergone looking for Levi, but they stood silently, snorting softly as he scratched their necks whilst they pressed their noses lightly into his hands, against his shoulder, against his cheek.

Eventually though, he heard the light patter of rain on the roof of the stables grow louder, telling him that the storm was returning, and Eren thought it was time he returned to the castle before it got heavy enough that he'd be soaked to the skin within a minute of exposure to the rain.

Giving his horses a last scratch on the neck, he bid them goodbye and turned to leave the stables.

He would have missed the small body leaning against the outer walls of the stables by the entrance on his way back to headquarters, but the figure's quiet cough made Eren jump.

“So, Jaeger,” Levi started conversationally as the younger man started violently, then calmed upon seeing who it was addressing him. “You walked in on Erwin and Arlert necking, did you?”

“By the Walls,” came the gasped reply, Eren planting a hand on the doorframe as he clutched at his breast, willing his racing heart to calm as the rain fell harder around the building. “You scared me, Levi. What are you doing skulking around the stables for? I spent like half a day looking for you.”

The Captain snorted. “So I heard. Could've done without the five minute babble about what Erwin and your blond friend were 'probably' doing the moment you left his office though. Unless Arlert is secretly kinkier than he looks, it probably isn't any worse than the shit we've been doing in mine.”

He pushed himself off the wall and turned to make his way back to the castle, ignoring the youth stammering and sputtering behind him as he began to walk without a backwards glance.

“C'mon, we'd better get back before this rain gets too heavy to walk through without getting all our shit wet.”

“H-how long were you even listening?” Eren called out, breaking into a jog to catch up to the older man, his forearm pressed against his forehead to shield his eyes from the fat drops of rain falling from the cloud-darkened afternoon sky.

“Long enough,” Levi shrugged, turning his head slightly for a moment to watch the boy slow as he got closer, his brisk jog easing into a more languid stroll as he came level with the shorter man, Eren unconsciously matching Levi step for step. The boy dropped his forearm back down to his side, and Levi turned his head again to meet the younger man's eyes squarely as the shifter glanced at him curiously.

“Were you hiding out in the stables all day?” Eren asked, his lop-sided grin somehow fractionally more attractive when his dark hair was plastered wetly to his damp face, framing his bright eyes. Levi was sure he didn't look half as good with his hair soaked through, but made no move to hasten his steps, so neither did the younger man.

The only response Eren got to his question was an uncommittal half-shrug, Levi turning back towards the lights of the castle headquarters and away from the shifter's damn glowing smile.

He was expecting the short bark of laughter to burst forth from the young man's throat at his non-answer, but he wasn't expecting the hand on his shoulder that spun him to face the boy, nor was he expecting the gentle press of lips against his own.

Eren didn't let go of Levi's shoulder, but he did wrap his free arm around the older man's waist, curling his fingers into the Captain's hip. Levi's own hands came up to fist into the front of Eren's shirt as they kissed slowly, languidly in the pouring rain.

At least, until Eren's bangs began to drip into Levi's eyes. The shorter man uncurled his fingers to plant his palms flat on either side of Eren's chest and pushed him back.

“Gross, you're dripping on me. Let's get back inside.”

  


**ix. eyelid kiss**

Exhaustion had settled deep into their bones after the three day expedition, and despite the fact it was only late afternoon, he thought he was ready to just lay down and sink into unconsciousness for a full week.

Fatigue slowed his steps and lethargy weighted his feet as he dragged himself after Levi to the Captain's quarters. He could see the weariness in the droop of the older man's shoulders as he tailed him, and he knew Levi was just as eager to get some rest as he was.

Normally, the two of them would be a little more discreet about going back to Levi's room together, but right now, the siren song lure of sleep had them throwing their caution to the wind in exchange for haste towards the promise of soft sheets and a warm bed.

As soon as their horses were stabled and their supplies unloaded, the Captain had announced that he was going to bed, and anyone who dared to disturb him before 7am the following morning would be on stable mucking duty for the next month and a half.

The heavy thump of Levi's mud-crusted boots against the wooden flooring of the busy hallways as he turned and left for his quarters had Eren hurrying to unbolt his Gear from his back and sides the blade case and gas canisters from his thighs. Turning his Gear in quickly, he rushed to follow the older man back to the Captain's quarters.

It didn't take him long to catch up though, and soon he was pacing just behind Levi, steps slowing as soon as he'd caught up with his lover. He made no move to overtake him, however, content to just walk behind him as they both made their way through the hallways and up the stairs in silence.

Nobody even spared them a second glance as they passed, the Captain leading the shifter having become a common sight long, long ago. And even tonight, even with weariness showing on both their faces, their hair damp with sweat, cloaks slung over their shoulders, their white pants speckled with dirt and their boots caked in mud, nobody seemed to think anything of the Jaeger boy following Captain Levi somewhere.

The number of people they passed in the hallways lessened the deeper and the higher they went, and eventually they arrived at Levi's personal quarters. Eren waited until Levi had drawn a small key from one of his pockets and unlocked his door, watching as the Captain slid gracefully out of his tall boots despite his exhaustion before the older man stepped past the threshold of the room, boots pinched together in one hand.

Eren copied Levi's actions as he watched the older man disappear through a side door into the adjoining washroom, hopping out of his own boots and picking them up with one hand as he stepped into Levi's room, his sock-covered feet whisper-quiet against the floorboards as he turned to close and lock the door, hanging the key on the hook by the door before following his Captain into the bathroom to wash up too.

By the time Eren had made his way into the private bathroom, Levi had already stripped down to his skin, and was standing with his back to Eren as he turned on the water in the shower, the pipes rattling noisily as the showerhead spat at him. The younger man allowed himself a moment to run his eyes down the man's back, watching his muscles roll and bunch as Levi leaned into the shower, one arm shifting as he passed it under the water and out as he checked the temperature, his other hand alternating between the taps as he tweaked first one, then the other.

Eren turned back away after leisurely eyeing his Captain's rear to find Levi's boots set into a corner of the washroom atop a square of oiled canvas, obviously to be cleaned later. He gingerly placed his own mud-crusted pair next to them, quickly checking that he hadn't dropped any clumps of dirt anywhere on his way from the door to the bathroom.

Satisfied that he hadn't, the young man then chucked his cloak into the laundry hamper where Levi's own soiled clothing sat, roughly folded into squares and neatly stacked. He began to strip down, unbuckling his harness quickly as he heard Levi's feet squeak against the tiled floor of the shower behind him, shucking the belts off and dropping them into a careless pile next to Levi's own meticulously rolled own. The sound of Levi's quiet sigh of satisfaction as the hot water filtered through his hair and down his back had Eren hurrying to shed the rest of his clothing, toeing his socks off quickly as he slid his linen shirt off in one quick movement and pulled his pants and underwear off at the same time. He balled the sweaty clothing up and tossed it into the hamper, on top of his cloak, before turning to step into the shower behind Levi, who shifted a little to allow Eren the space to get under the water as well.

Mechanically working through their individual routines of washing up, the two of them stepped and leaned around each other like clockwork as they lathered shampoo into their hair and scrubbed soap across their skin and over each other's backs as they stripped themselves of the sweat and grime of the expedition. Exhaustion stopped their hands from roaming playfully across each other's bodies as their showers together sometimes degenerated to, each man too eager to be finished and to be clean and to collapse into bed as soon as humanly possible.

And soon, Eren was finished, rinsing the last of the suds from his hair and skin, stepping around Levi and out of the shower to grab two clean towels from the shelf by the sink. One he slung over his head, and the other he placed atop the lowered toilet seat by the shower for Levi to use once he was finished.

The younger man rubbed the towel over his hair quickly, not bothering to get it any dryer than just damp before he towelled the moisture off the rest of his body, slinging it around his neck as he approached the sink to brush his teeth.

The cup on the sink held both their toothbrushes, carefully crossed at the handle so the heads of each brush leant on the opposite end of the cup. They were both standard-issue items, both white-handled and equally well-used, Eren thought that they should probably replace them by the weekend, making a quick mental note to pick some new ones up tomorrow. The only way either man could ever tell whose toothbrush was whose was by the way it faced-- Levi's one always pointed left, and Eren's pointed right.

Grabbing his brush and the tube of toothpaste from the shelf above the sink, he applied the minty paste onto his toothbrush and stuck the head into his mouth as he tossed the toothpaste carelessly back onto the shelf.

He heard the shower taps squeak behind him and the water stop running just as he finished rinsing his mouth out and replacing his toothbrush into its holder. Dabbing at his mouth with the corner of his towel, Eren turned his head to see Levi stepping out of the shower and grabbing the towel Eren had set out for him.

“I'm going to bed first, alright?” the younger man said, as he tossed the used towel into the hamper with the rest of their soiled clothing. He didn't wait for an answer, but heard the affirmative grunt of the shorter man as Eren stepped out of the washroom, shivering slightly at the chill of the bedroom. The window was open.

Eren stood and pondered for a moment over the decision to close the window or not, before shrugging and making his way over to the bed. It had been a hot day, and the cool of the night shouldn't be too unbearable this early in autumn, and if Levi thought otherwise, he was welcome to shut the casement himself.

Not bothering to grab himself a fresh pair of undergarments from the dresser by the bed, Eren slid naked under the blankets, settling against the cool sheets and comfortable pillows with a contented hum as he prepared himself for sleep.

He was already beginning to drift off into slumber, the side of his face pressed deep into Levi's plush, downy pillows, when he felt the mattress dip beside him as Levi slid under the covers beside him, the older man's chest cool against Eren's forearms. He was barely conscious enough to register the sleepy “Love you,” mumbled affectionately against his exposed cheek, to feel the soft drag of lips up his face as Levi pressed a gentle kiss to his right eyelid before the older man shuffled closer.

Eren hummed drowsily in contentment and opened his arms to accommodate Levi, shifting to press his nose into his Captain's shoulder and inhaling deeply as the older man slung one arm around his own. The boy wrapped one arm over his lover's bare middle as Levi draped his leg over the curve of Eren's own waist, adjusting the blankets around them before replacing his arm about Eren's shoulder and burying his nose into the younger man's hair.

Curled up together in the older man's bed, cosy beneath the warm cover of Levi's duvets, the two of them drifted off into slumber as darkness fell around them.

  


**x. gentle kiss**

He knew Levi sometimes wondered why he went along with him, why Eren humored his Captain's whims and touches and awkward flirting.

He knew Levi sometimes wondered why Eren asked for, agreed to this thing between them, even though they've fucked furiously like animals over his desk in broad daylight and made love tenderly to each other under the cover of starry nights and whispered their affections as they ran their fingers across each other's skin, tan fingers over scarred porcelain pale, calloused white fingers over unbroken brown sugar skin.

The older man poured his heart out to him once, safe in the cage of Eren's arms with his liquor-heavy head pillowed upon the boy's firm shoulder.

Levi had wondered why Eren would lay with him and run his soft brown fingertips across his face and press kisses into his pulse as if this were the last chance the younger man ever had to touch his Captain.

Levi had whispered that he honestly was just a washed up old soldier with dubious breeding and a sketchy background, and Eren was such a beautiful bright young thing, a beautiful young man who the fresh female recruits swoon and giggle over, a handsome spirited figure who the other equally young male soldiers rake their eyes over in the hallways.

Levi had said that Eren could have had his pick of any of them, any of those similarly beautiful young people, any one he wanted. Could have had a different one in his bed every single night had he so wished. So why him? Why this broken old man with his coarse language and crude jokes?

And Eren had just smiled and touched his fingers lightly to Levi's chin, tilting his Captain's face up as he leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips, keeping their faces close as he breathed quietly against the older man's mouth.

“Because I want you, and I wouldn't trade you for the world.”

 


End file.
